Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-01-26
WESPERN DUELING.
Two Odd Tombstones at the Base
Of Pixies Peak.
How Avalanche Jem Smith and CHINA.
mon River Orton Settled an Old Grudgc
Il lhase OF Wild Western Life
of Many Years Ago.
fChicago Herald.l

"I've seen heap o fights in my day"
i'd an old frontiersman in Canuck Jim's
place the other night, 'but the worst Of
the whole lot was the one between Ava.
lanche' Jem Smith and Cinnamon River
Orion, which occurred at the base of Pixies
Peak during the gold fever days years
ago. Irememler it as wei as though it
was ct last night. You see the men W ere
nat'ral born enemies. They had fit every
time they had met each other for Vars
and Vars, and each one had been a-swear-
in round the country that he would grease
his boots with the others heart. They
did not meet, however, until one night in
September. Each was pilotin' a train
across the plains. Both came together at
the foot of the old peak just as it was
a-gettin' dark. Orton was big, stran-
IiP fellow with long black hair. He
had but one eye, Avalanche hav-
ing gouged the other out in fight
they had vars before in the Arap-
ahoe country. Smith was a little, wiry
devil with eyes no bigger'n hazelnuts. Or
ton had knocked the fellows n oses out of
joint and somebody else had cut his left
cheek from the eye to the chin. Smith
was an aornery -lookin' cuss, but holy
knock-kneed Injuns, how he could fight!
swell, as 1 was a-sayin' the men met at
the base of Pixies Peak. 1t didn't take
'em long to find each other. They were
ready to fight it out then and there; but
the rest of us objected to havin' any
lood-spillin' round the train, for there
were q heap o. women In the schooners
who weren't a-hankerin' to see a -ht. II
was finally agreed that the men should
meet at midnight in a sort of ravine about
half mile from camp and fight the old
grudge out, once for all. About twenty
OF US went along 10 see that there was
fair play. 0rton wanted to fight with
pistols; but Smith, who was mighty
handy with a bowie, insisted that the
thing must be done with knives. 1t was
finally agreed that each should fire three
rounds with his Cclps, and then, il both
were were still alive, knives were to he
used until one or both were dead. When
every thing was ready Orton AMI Smith
took off their blouses, and, steppin' cut
into little strip Of ground where the
moon shone brightest, paced Off twenty
feet and then stood with their backs to
each other. A moment later Rattle
snake Ike gave the word to fire. The
two men wheeled around as quick as
lightnin' and discharged their guns with
one crack. Orton caught ball in the
chin, while Smith fen upon his knees,
with hunk o. lead in the sbirs. Ike
again gave the word to shoot, and again
the guns spouted fiie simultaneously.
Orton now came down on his mar
row bones with ball in his
right knee. Smith was shot in
the left shoulder ami fell over upon his
back. We all thought he was done for
but he got up on his knees again and
cocked his weapon again for tha-last
round. Both men were covered with
blood, and it was all they could do to keep
in per'endic'lar position on their knees
"'One, two, thr e-fire = yelled Ike. The
two men bla zed away at each others
head. Both were shot through the neck
yet neither fell.
DRAW your knives and close in.
shouted Ike, jumping round like Sioux
Indian with the stoma ch ache. The two
men dragged themselves within arm.
length of each other, and then begun one
of the most horrible battles l ever saw.
Orton was the first to draw his knife from
lis belt. He raised it high over his head
and drove it into his adversary's bach
between the oulder- ladies'. Smith
staggered for minute, but recovered
in time to parry a blow aimed al
his breast. Then the two men fell upon
each other, and rolled over and over, eacl
trying to grab the other by the throat.
Their hands were red to the wrists. while
blood ran off the llades of their knives
and spurted from the wounds in theil
necks. Everybody was sick OF the sight
'cept Ike. He kept jumpin' and yellin
round the fighters like madman, and
clappin' his hands at every thrust. Fol
fifteen minutes Orton and Smith Tough,
like demons in the moonlight. Thew
slashed each other hit and left until
they tainted from loss of llooi. It was
nearly ono O'clock when we walked in lie.
tween them cnl car. iel them into camp
Orton died on the way, and Smith, who
never recovered consciousness, passed in
his checks before sunup. We stuck two
pine boards at the heads OF their graves al
the foot of the hill. The one over Orton's
mound read something like this: